Rich Hill and his dad, former Quincy High School principal Lloyd Hill Sr., got to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro early last Sunday, well before the start of pregame warmups by the Patriots and Bengals. Lloyd Hill Sr. is a serious football fan, having played at Brown University many years ago where one of his buddies was a teammate named Joe Paterno.

But not even a phone call from Penn State’s legendary coach Paterno could compare to the call Rich Hill got Sunday morning, as he and his dad watched the pregame routine. Red Sox minor league director Mike Hazen was on the line, informing Rich that the Boston squad needed his services as soon as possible in Seattle. Despite having great seats courtesy of a friend, the two Hills were on their way out of the stadium after the first quarter.

“To get that call, fulfilling a lifetime dream, with his father at his side, was just so special,” said Kate Hill, who’s married to Rich’s older brother, Lloyd, Jr. “The whole family is beside themselves. It’s absolutely phenomenal how happy we all are for Rich.”

Rich Hill, 30, had shoulder surgery last August with famed sports surgeon Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles. He began 2010 as property of the St. Louis Cardinals, laboring for their Triple-A affiliate in Memphis, Tenn. But Hill’s contract had an out clause if he was not in the big leagues by June 15, so he exercised that, even though he had no firm offers at that point. The next day the Red Sox called, and for this lifelong Red Sox fan and his family, the road to Fenway Park got a whole lot shorter.

Bouncing between the bullpen and the starting rotation, Hill went 7-4 between his two Triple-A stints, and he was 3-1 in his last five starts for the Pawtucket Red Sox. When major league rosters expanded on Sept. 1, he was disappointed to not get the callup, but the thinking was he’d get a long look in BoSox spring training next year. But rookie left-hander Felix Doubront’s pectoral injury was serious enough that the big league team doesn’t want to use him again this season, so there was an opening for a southpaw. Enter Rich Hill.

The boyhood dream of pitching for the hometown team reached one level of fruition on Tuesday night in Seattle, where Hill threw five pitches to retire the final batter of the seventh inning on a ground ball. When David Ortiz put the Sox ahead the next inning with a three-run homer, Hill was the pitcher of record, picking up the win in his first appearance for the Boston Red Sox.

Rich Hill, who now lives in South Boston with his wife, graduated from Milton High, where he starred for coach Ted Curley’s teams. Hill went to the University of Michigan, and was subsequently drafted by the Chicago Cubs. Most of his 78 games of major league experience came with those Cubs, although he also finished last year with the Baltimore Orioles.

Page 2 of 3 - “I am very, very happy. It’s a wonderful thing for Richie,” said Lloyd Hill Sr., now 82. “We were at the game at Gillette Sunday morning when it happened. A policeman asked us why we were leaving so early after the first quarter, with the game still under way, but we were both pretty happy to get that call.”

“Having Rich at Pawtucket this summer was great, the first time in baseball he’s been that close,” said Lloyd Sr. “We had always gone out to see him at Wrigley Field, or Arizona for spring training, and down to Daytona where he was in A-ball. But he’d never been this close before.’’

Lloyd Hill Jr. is yet another sports-loving part of the Hill clan. Rich’s brother Larry played baseball at Boston College, while Lloyd Jr. pitched for Colby College. Being almost 20 years older than Rich, Lloyd Jr. was as much coach and mentor as big brother, so he’s especially thrilled to see Rich in a BoSox uniform. The fact that Lloyd Jr. has been a Red Sox season ticket holder for decades also helps.

“Obviously we’re all ecstatic,” said Lloyd Jr. soon after stepping off a plane from Monday night’s New York Jets game, where he’d been part of a business meeting. “Number one, the fact that he’s on the big club and we get a chance to see him pitch for the Red Sox at Fenway Park is such a kick. Rich spent most of this season demonstrating that he is healthy again, and now he gets to show it at the nation’s greatest ballpark.”

All those miles on the road to see brother Rich play have already brought some good times, but everyone is expecting his Red Sox Fenway debut can be even more meaningful.

“We have had some very special moments with Rich over the years,” said Lloyd Jr. “First to see him pitch for Michigan, and then of course to be drafted by the Cubs. To see his first start at Wrigley Field was a big one, and then we got to see his first shutout at Wrigley, too. We saw his second appearance at the old Yankee Stadium a few years back, and then last year, starting for the Orioles, we got to see Rich pitch at the new Yankee Stadium. As Red Sox season ticket holders for the past 20 years we have seen all the greatest Red Sox moments of the past few years – and now to see Rich with that uniform on his back is something you just can’t put into words. It goes without saying, we’ll all be at Fenway Park all weekend.”

“He’s really home now,” said Lloyd Sr. “Rich has always been a Red Sox fan, of course ... But, to see him now out there on the mound wearing that Red Sox uniform, it’s a really, truly special moment.”

Page 3 of 3 - “Rich has always been wonderful with all our kids,” said Kate Hill, who is also Rich’s godmother. “My three boys have seen Uncle Rich pitch in about a dozen different major league stadiums, and everything they have is autographed. Lots of people in Milton are excited by this – we just heard from Steve Wilkie, who was a mentor to Rich, and called to congratulate him. For his dad, Lloyd Sr., my husband Lloyd Jr., and my son Lloyd III, who’s 13 – Rich is his godfather – able to see Uncle Rich pitch now at Fenway Park, has us all out of our minds with happiness.”